Farm to Summer Celebration Week

Background

F2S activities align with California’s priorities to provide its youth access to quality, nutritious meals that feature locally grown, whole, and minimally processed ingredients. The first F2Summer Week Challenge was created in 2018 by the USDA to encourage more CNP sponsors to participate in F2Summer activities. Since then, the NSD has supported this campaign annually.

• In 2024, the theme was Let’s Have a Picnic! Participants embraced the "Let's Have a Picnic" theme by offering picnic-style meals with local produce and engaging in educational activities on healthy eating. Agencies used checkered and picnic decor, served BBQs and picnic meals, and hosted smoothie picnics or salad-making with fresh, local ingredients. Nutrition education highlighted the benefits of local foods and farm-to-table processes. Some sites partnered with local farmers for F2S events, while others organized special events and outdoor dining experiences. Social media and flyers promoted the theme which fostered community engagement and a fun, educational environment focused on local food.
  
  
• In 2023, the theme was Create Your Own Farmstand. Participants connected to the theme in a variety of ways including: hosting a wellness event with a farmers’ markets that allowed customers to use their electronic benefit transfer (EBT) cards, partnering with the county to offer a community farmers market, making their own farm stand where students could learn about and try different produce sourced locally, and using pop-up tables, displays, and backdrops to create a farmstand complete with banners, wooden baskets, hay bales and other farm décor.
  
  
• In 2022, many summer program sites returned to in-person instruction and were able to incorporate hands-on activities that connected with the Get to Know Your Local Farm(s) theme! Participants reported connecting with the theme in a variety of ways, including inviting farmers to visit their schools, providing sensory challenge activities, taking students to visit a local farm, using local produce to make simple recipes for the students to enjoy, and encouraging culinary students to utilize their seasonal produce.
  
  
• In 2021, the USDA retitled the F2Summer Week Challenge to the F2Summer Celebration Week and supported state agencies and program operators in implementing the celebration however it best fit their programs. The theme for the year was Celebrate Local Foods!

How to Participate

To participate in the F2Summer Celebration, program operators must 1) Complete the F2Summer Celebration Week Pre-Survey, 2) Conduct the three activities at least once during the designated F2Summer Celebration Week, and 3) Complete the F2Summer Celebration Week Post-Survey.

1. Complete the California F2Summer Week Celebration Pre-Survey.
   
   
2. Conduct the following three activities at least once during the designated F2Summer Celebration Week:
   
   
   • Taste: Serve a locally sourced food item that students can taste. The tasting can occur during a snack or meal, during a nutrition activity, or in the garden!
     • Serve a locally sourced food item that students can taste. The tasting can occur during a snack or meal, during a nutrition activity, or in the garden! Each program operator defines local. The definition of local can change based on the season or the type of product and can mean within a specific radius, city, a county, a specific region, or the California borders. These snacks or meals can come from the school garden or school farm, an individual farmer, a farmers market, through a distributor, from USDA foods, the USDA Department of Defense (DoD) Fresh Fruit and Vegetable Program also known as DoD Fresh, or a food hub.
       
       
   • Teach: Provide a nutrition and/or agricultural-based education activity. For ideas, visit the Resources tab on the CDE F2S web page or visit the CDE Resource Library web page.
     
     
   • Connect: Share your F2Summer Celebration Week activities with your school community. You can do this using social media, on your organization’s website, via a newsletter article, by email, or by inviting the press to attend an event! You could do one of these, a few of them, or all of them!
     
     
3. Complete the California Farm to Summer Celebration Week Post-Survey. (The post-survey will be open again in June 2025)

All program operators that conduct the F2Summer Celebration Week and complete the pre- and post-survey will have their organizations recognized in a listserv and during the NSD Town Hall meeting. Their name will be posted on the F2Summer Celebration Week Awardees tab and their school will receive a certificate of participation, known as the One in a Melon award and a web badge to post on district and organization web pages.

Successes

Benefits
Quotes
Success Stories

Benefits

Summer Program Operators who participate of the F2Summer Celebration Week have report multiple benefits.

In 2024:

• 64 percent of the participating Summer Program Operators reported that the F2Summer Celebration week was in alignment with their meal service, school mission, and vision.
• 62 percent noticed a greater acceptance of the meal.
• 58 percent reported better food quality with local purchases.
• 56 percent witnessed greater community support for the summer meal programs.
• 47 percent reported an increase in participation.
• 36 percent witnessed increased kitchen staff satisfaction.
• 24 percent reported reduced food waste.
• 11 percent reported lower meal costs.

Quotes

Student Quotes
Food Service Quotes
Parent/Guardian Quotes

F2Summer Celebration Week Program Operators have an opportunity to share statements that summed up their student, staff, and parent celebration experiences. Below are some of the inspiring quotes that were shared.

Student Quotes

• “I have never tried golden melon and opal basil.” - Student from Palm Springs Unified School District (USD)
  
  
• "Our grandparents have a garden in their backyard, and I'm excited to add this new plant to it." - Student from Riverside USD
  
  
• "These taste better than the ones in the can." - Student from Delhi USD
  
  
• A student expressed sincere appreciation for the vegetarian and vegan-based barbeque options served for lunch. She said, "I not only feel included in the barbeque celebration, but that I have amazing choices that support my lifestyle." - Student at Redland USD
  
  
• "Tomatoes grow on plants?" - Student at Morongo USD
  
  
• "I never tried this, but I will eat them every chance I can." - Student at Hughson USD
  
  
• “Thank you for making sure I have food.” - Student at Redlands USD
  
  
• “Best summer ever, healthy food, healthy life.” - Student at Heber Elementary School District (SD)
  
  
• "This is delicious (tasting a nectarine from a local farm for the first time)!” - Student at Yuba City USD
  
  
• "I want to make these recipes at home!" - Student at San Luis Coastal USD
  

Food Service Quotes

• “All the kids really seemed to enjoy the farmers market and the opportunity to try fruits they have never tasted before!” - Kern High SD
  
  
• "It was exciting to see the amount of students participating and to see the faces of the kids as they expressed happiness and an investment in cooking and preparing vegetables." - Esparto USD
  
  
• "It was so cute to hear the kiddos describe how fresh and delicious their choices were. What a great experience!” - Yuba City USD
  
  
• “I love what I do.” - Heber Elementary SD
  
  
• Seeing these kids eat cherries makes me smile…. seeing all their cherry-stained purple fingers!" - San Luis Coastal USD
  

• “This is a great opportunity to promote the local foods we regularly serve on our menus!” - Fresno USD
  
  
• “It was great to see the excitement and energy from the students to learn about and eat watermelon; and for some it was their very first time trying it.” - Weaver Union SD
  
  
• “F2Summer Celebration Week provided Riverside Unified School District the ability to bring awareness of locally grown produce served through summer meals. It allowed youth to explore hands-on agriculture-based activities and encouraged increased intake of locally grown fruit through produce taste-testing activity.” - Adleit at Riverside USD
  
  
• “A great way to collaborate with our local farmers and create an ongoing flourishing relationship to better both school meals and local small agriculture.” - Kristin at Brentwood Union SD

Parent/Guardian Quotes

• "So many families have thanked us for the opportunity to have local produce made accessible to them!" - Parent/Guardian from Lodi USD
  
  
• "Wow, this is a great program for the kids of our community whose parents and family members work for these local farms and helps establish a sense of identity." - Parent from Esparto USD
  
  
• "Thank you for doing this." - Parent from Delhi USD
  
  
• "Thank you for inspiring my child to get in the kitchen at home and try new foods! I can't wait to have them make dinner!" - Parent/Guardian from San Luis Coastal USD
  
  
• “I had no idea the district provided meals for the kids during the summer, thank you so much for doing this.” - Parent/Guardian from Jurupa USD
  
  
• “I’ve never got my son to even look at apricots and now he has to have them.” - Parent/Guardian from Hughson USD
  
  
• “We love that our kids are getting fresh fruit.” - Parent/Guardian from Redlands USD

Success Stories

F2Summer Celebration Week Operators also have an opportunity to share their success stories. The NSD has summarized a few of their experiences below:

• We celebrated F2Summer Celebration Week at our Lunch at the Library feeding site with locally grown organic pickling cucumbers and organic gem avocados. The cucumbers, sourced from The Ecology Center in San Juan Capistrano, were grown less than 2 miles away from our central kitchen! Our ongoing partnership with The Ecology Center provided a perfect opportunity to collaborate this summer, as the volume of produce needed was lower than during the traditional school year. We used the cucumbers to make pickles, which were featured on the lunch menu this week. We also provided nutrition education for families on cucumbers and distributed recipe cards for the pickles in both English and Spanish. Additionally, we received organic gem avocados from Dickinson Family Farms in Fallbrook, with whom we've worked throughout the past school year. We were thrilled to order avocados for the summer, using them to prepare fresh guacamole, which was served alongside our main entrée at lunch. We also shared nutrition information on avocados with our families. – Capistrano USD
  
  
• F2Summer Celebration Week kicked off at eight Summer Meals program sites, serving hundreds of nutritious breakfasts and lunches featuring fresh, seasonal produce from local farmers. The week culminated in a vibrant "Summer Kickoff" event at A.K. Smiley Library, where over 600 students enjoyed delicious, locally sourced meals. In addition to the food, the day was filled with educational activities from Master Gardeners. We collaborated with a diverse range of organizations and individuals, creating a welcoming space for families, fostering community connections, and celebrating the hard work of local farmers who nourish our children. The true success of the event, however, was the strengthened partnership with A.K. Smiley Library. – Redlands USD
  
  
• Our District is thrilled to share the highlights from our F2Summer Celebration event, made possible through our amazing partnership with Alemaya Farm:
  • Culinary Creations: Our culinary students showcased their skills by preparing fresh spinach and apricot salad and baked zucchini, featuring local produce. Their hard work and creativity resulted in mouth-watering dishes that everyone enjoyed!
  • Taste-Test Treats: All our summer program students had the opportunity to taste-test the delicious salad and zucchini during lunch. It was a wonderful way to bring the farm-to-table experience to life!
  • Gardening Greatness: Our gardening students dove deep into the world of soil food webs, exploring the chemistry of our school gardens, and planted seeds generously donated by a local farm. Their dedication is helping to nurture the next generation of green thumbs! – Esparto USD
    
    
• We began planning for F2Summer Celebration Week early by partnering with an organization to create a digital nutrition enrichment magazine, focusing on the produce featured during the week and the farmers who provided our fresh fruits and vegetables. During F2Summer Week, we shared nutritional information through social media and in-person at multiple taste-tests. On Wednesday, we hosted a taste-test featuring three different stone fruits at both sites and gathered the children's favorite choices the following day. On Thursday, we celebrated one of our biggest service days with a BBQ featuring chicken and grilled corn! The students' excitement for our "Picnic" was evident in their smiles and the joy in their eyes. Throughout the week, we educated students on the health benefits of corn, watermelon, apples, oranges, and stone fruits, and we’ve already begun planning for next year’s F2Summer Week! – Hesperia USD

Trainings

Online Trainings
Additional Online Training Databases

Online Trainings

Course Number	Course Name	Training Topic	Target Audience
550	F2Summer Week Challenge (Video; 20:31) Please note: F2Summer Challenge is now known as F2Summer Celebration Week	Menu Planning or Nutrition Education	Child and Adult Care Food Program Directors, Food Service Directors and Staff, Teachers
External USDA	Local Foods and Enriching Activities in Summer Meal Programs	Menu Planning or Nutrition Education	Summer Meal Program Food Service Directors, Staff

Additional Online Training Databases

To find additional online trainings, visit the:

• USDA F2Summer Videos and Webinars to explore how local farmers are integrated into summer meal programs. They highlight successful partnerships and strategies from organizations and state agencies that bring the farm to summer meals.
• CDE Course Catalog web page to assist with professional standards requirements, professional development, and compliance needs.

Partners

The following tables provide a list of organizations you can reach out to for assistance procuring locally sourced foods and providing assistance with nutrition and/or agricultural-based enrichment activities. If you need their assistance, it is advisable to contact them early!

Taste—Assistance with local procurement
Teach—On-site assistance providing agricultural-based education activities

Taste—Assistance with Local Procurement

Organization	Contact Information	Assistance Provided
California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) Office of Farm to Fork–Farm to School (F2S) Program	Contact: Michael Ackley-Grady Email: Michael.Ackley-Grady@cdfa.ca.gov	Connecting with local food producers and navigating F2S resources
Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF)	Contact: Claire Tauber, Farm to School Manager Email: claire@caff.org	Provides technical assistance (TA) with procuring local foods, and a free Bid Generator for Request for Proposals

Teach—Assistance Providing Agricultural-Based Education Activities

Organization/Program	Contact Information	Assistance Provided
The University of California Agriculture and Natural Resources- Master Gardener Program	Select the county on the California map to identify the Master Gardener Program nearest you.	They provide garden-based education activities and support the ‘Ask a Master Gardener a Question’ service.
CalFresh Healthy Living, University of California (UC)	Contact: Anna Jones, School Wellness and Smarter Lunchrooms Movement Project Manager Email: anajones@ucdavis.edu	They can provide nutrition education activities and taste tests of locally sourced foods for schools that qualify for CalFresh Healthy Living, UC services.
California Foundation for Agriculture (Ag) in the Classroom	Contact: Amanda Fletcher, Executive Director Phone: 916-561-5625 Email: info@learnaboutag.org	They support California teachers with agriculture literacy resources, programs, and funding opportunities. They offer a wide range of standard-aligned agricultural lessons and enrichment activities.
Center for Ecoliteracy	Phone: 510-845-4595 Email: info@ecoliteracy.org	They can provide technical assistance by phone or email on F2Summer promotion, educational activities, and celebrations.

Resources

Below are resources that participants can utilize to help promote, plan, implement, and enhance their F2Summer Celebration week.

Promotion - Materials
Promotion- Past Successes
Procurements
Policy
Planning Guides and Toolkits
General Resources

Promotion

Resources	Description
Community Alliance with Family Farmers (CAFF) Farm to Cafeteria Signage Request Form	Use Farm to Cafeteria Signage to promote seasonal produce from local family farmers to students and the community. Display posters, signs, liquid crystal display images (also known as LCD images), and table tents for serving local produce to raise awareness of and recognition for your Farm to Cafeteria program. Contact the Farm to Market team at farmtocafeteria@caff.org with further inquiries.
USDA Taste-Testing Event Posters and Resources	Taste-tests are a great way to introduce new menu items and get students excited to try healthy food choices. Use these posters, stickers, and rate-your-taste resources to help plan and host a successful F2Summer Celebration week taste-testing event.

Promotion- Past Successes

Procurement

Resources	Description
USDA Procuring Local Foods for CNP Guide (PDF)	This guide covers many key topics for buying local foods, such as: Menu Planning, Procurement Principals and Regulations, Procurement Methods, Opportunities to Target Local Producer, Sections of a Solicitation, Geographic Preference, Buying Products from the School Garden, Supporting Local Foods in Tribal Schools, Beyond Lunch: Buying Local Foods for Summer, Using USDA Foods and Department of Defense (DoD) Fresh, Comparing Procurement Methods, and more. Revised 2022.
California Department of Food and Agriculture (CDFA) Certified Farmers Market Locator by County (PDF)	Need assistance finding farmers markets for hyper-local foods for your meal programs, F2Summer Celebration Week, or both? The CDFA provides a Certified Farmers Market Locator by County list for California to assist with locating these markets.
CDFA Certified Producers by County (PDF)	Need assistance finding local producers and foods for your meal programs, F2Summer Celebration Week, or both? The CDFA provides a Certified Producers by County list in California to assist with locating these producers.
Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education Program Find a Food Hub web page	Need assistance finding local Food Hubs? Sustainable Agriculture Research & Education Program provides a list of participating food hubs in the California Food Hub Network.

Policy

Planning Guides and Toolkits

Resources	Description
Center for Ecoliteracy How to Plan a Student-Centered Farmer Visit to Your School Guide and Checklist	Looking to host a farmer at your site? This farmer visit planning guide is designed for all school personnel to use with a downloadable checklist!
Center for Ecoliteracy F2Summer Planning Guide	This planning guide distills tips and best practices for building community support, conducting grassroots outreach, planning F2Summer menus, and more.

General Resources

Resources	Description
USDA F2Summer: Why Summer Meals Programs are Ripe for Local Foods and Agriculture-Based Activities Fact Sheet	This fact sheet discusses the benefits of F2Summer activities. Summer is a time of agricultural abundance; this fact sheet reviews how to integrate local food into summer meals.
National Farm to Fork Network	This resource database includes Procurement, Nutrition Education, Gardening, Marketing, and Multicultural Resources along with resources to assist program operators implementing F2S and F2Summer activities. Examples of resources include: Preschool Lesson Plans by Growing Minds, the "What’s in Season?" Produce Availability Chart, Pint Size Produce - Easy to Use Activities for Early Childhood, Fresh from the Farm: F2S and Out-of-School Time Programs, and much more!

Additional Resources

• Visit the CDE Resource Library web page to assist program operators with Nutrition Education activities, Agricultural-based Nutrition Education, Recipes, Cooking in the Classroom, and Physical Activity. Examples of resources include: Food Safety from Farm to Fork, Healthalicious Cooking, Nourish: Food and Community, Growing Healthy Kids and much more!

Best Practices

Below is a list of best practices to assist with planning, enjoying, and then wrapping up F2Summer Celebration Week.

Prior to F2Summer Celebration Week
During F2Summer Celebration Week
After F2Summer Celebration Week

Prior to F2Summer Celebration Week

• Watch the F2Summer Online Trainings.
• Obtain school administration and staff support.
• Utilize the CDE partners or school district partners for assistance.
• Complete the California F2Summer Week Celebration Pre-Survey.
• Involve students and teachers in choosing activities.
• Connect your activities with the F2Summer theme.
• Contact your local farms, farmers, food hubs, and distributors ahead of time to discuss produce availability.  
• Visit the CDE Resources Library for agricultural-based and nutrition education curriculum.
• Consider incorporating nutrition education into core subjects.
• Use local produce from USDA Foods.
• Use local and/or organic produce from Department of Defense (DoD) Fresh (Seamless Summer Option (SSO) program Operators).
• Notify parents/guardians of F2Summer Celebration Week
• Leverage help and assistance from parent volunteers, garden staff, farm to school (F2S) Coordinators, nutritionists, students interns and students.
• Connect with Lunch at the Library .

During F2Summer Celebration Week

• Teach agricultural-based and nutrition education lessons.
• Keep track of how many sites and students are participating.
• Taste local foods and produce.
• Share your successes with other school districts.
• Utilize all school spaces including:
  • Classrooms
  • Multipurpose rooms
  • Cafeteria
  • Garden
  • Grassy areas
  • Farm areas
• Take plenty of photos and videos (Don’t forget student photo releases!).
• Write down the memorable quotes and stories from students, staff, and parents/guardians.
• Place recipes and flyers in backpacks.
• Enjoy your week!

After F2Summer Celebration Week

• Complete the California F2Summer Celebration Week Post-Survey (the post-survey will open in July 2025)
  
• Tag the CDE NSD by using our Twitter handle: @CDENutrition.
• Notify Parents/guardians and the public of your successes by:
  • Email or E-Newsletter
  • District website
  • Text
  • Social Media Platform
    
• Consider applying for a Green Ribbon Schools (GRS) Award Program. GRS recognition award gives points to program operators that participate in the F2Summer Celebration Week. For GRS criteria, timelines, contacts, and general information, visit the CDE GRS web page. 

Awardees

The CDE NSD congratulates the following California operators who completed the three elements of the F2Summer Celebration Week during the year listed:

2024

• Adelanto Elementary School District (SD)
• Antioch Unified School District (USD)
• Capistrano USD
• Colton Joint USD
• Delhi USD
• Di Giorgio Elementary SD
• Eastside Union Elementary SD
• El Nido SD
• Esparto USD
• Fresno USD
• Fullerton SD
• Glendale USD
• Heber Elementary SD
• Hesperia USD
• Jurupa USD
• Kern High SD
• Lake Elementary School
• Laytonville USD
• Little Lake City SD
• Lodi USD
• Lynwood USD
• Menifee Union SD
• Morgan Hill USD
• Murrieta Valley USD
• Natomas USD
• Oak Valley Union Elementary School
• Ontario-Montclair SD
• Operation Specialist
• Palm Springs USD
• Pajaro Valley USD
• Redlands USD
• Rialto USD
• Riverside USD
• Rowland USD
• San Bernardino City USD
• San Diego USD
• San Juan USD
• San Luis Coastal USD
• Santa Cruz City Schools Food Services
• Tahoe Truckee USD
• Upland USD
• Vista USD
• Yuba City USD
• Yucaipa-Calimesa JUSD
  

2023

• Adelanto Elementary SD
• Capistrano USD
• Elk Grove USD
• Fallbrook Union Elementary SD
• Fresno USD
• Hesperia USD
• Huntington Beach Union High SD
• Jurupa USD
  
• Lake Elsinore USD
  
• Little Lake City SD
  
• Lodi USD
  
• Morgan Hill USD
  
• Morongo Unified SD
  
• Ontario-Montclair SD
  
• Pajaro Valley USD
  
• Redlands USD
  
• Rialto USD
  
• Riverside Unified SD
  
• Rowland Unified SD
  
• San Bernardino City USD
  
• San Diego USD
  
• San Juan USD
  
• San Luis Coastal USD
  
• Santa Cruz City Schools
  
• Upland USD
  
• Vista USD
  
• Winters Joint USD
  
• Yucaipa-Calimesa Joint USD
  
• Yuba City USD

2022

• California Sunrise Foundation
• Elk USD
• Fresno USD
• Glendale USD
• Heber Elementary SD
• Hesperia USD
• Hughson USD
• Lodi USD
• Manteca USD
• Morongo USD
• Natomas USD
• Ontario-Montclair SD
• Palm Springs USD
• Redlands USD
• Rialto USD Child Nutrition
• Riverside USD
• Rowland USD
• San Bernardino City USD
• San Luis Coastal USD
• San Miguel Joint Union SD
• Santa Cruz City SD
• Standard SD
• Vista USD
• Yuba City USD

2021

• Antioch USD
• Baker USD
• Barstow USD
• Brentwood Union SD
• Elk Grove USD
• Fresno USD
• Morongo USD
• Mountain View SD
• Ontario-Montclair SD
• Redlands USD
• Rialto USD
• Riverside USD
• San Diego Unified Food Services
• San Luis Coastal USD
• Santa Cruz City Schools
• Vista USD
• Weaver Union School District
• Winters Joint USD
• Yuba City USD

2020

The CDE NSD did not offer the F2Summer Week Challenge due to the global COVID-19 pandemic.

2019

• A Place Called Home
• Eastside Union SD
• Elk Grove USD
• Natomas USD
• Ontario-Montclair SD
• Redlands USD
• Rialto USD
• Riverside USD
• San Luis Coastal USD
• South Bay Union SD
• Winters Joint USD
• Adelanto Elementary SD
• Camp Laurel Foundation
• Hesperia USD
• Santa Clara USD
• San Diego USD
• Hilmar USD
• Sacramento City USD

Contacts

California Department of Education F2S Contacts

Farm to School

For questions about F2Summer Celebration Week, contact the F2S Team by email at Farm2School@cde.ca.gov.

Procurement

For questions related to procurement and procurement resources, email NSDProcurementReview@cde.ca.gov.

California Department of Food and Agriculture Team Contacts

For assistance locating farms or food hubs to procure local foods, contact the Farm to School Network Team at the California Department of Food and Agriculture by email at cafarmtoschool@cdfa.ca.gov.